Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Ryker by Sawyer Bennett Virtual Blog Tour (+2 Giveaways)

The
rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again
in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling
author Sawyer Bennett.

The
stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With
his contract running out, he’s got a year left to prove he’s still at the top
of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a
pro-hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for
him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody’s taking dirty
shots—except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker
gives him a fresh start.

As
the league’s only female general manager, Gray Brannon has learned not to mix
business with pleasure. And yet even this tough, talented career woman can’t
help breaking her own rules as she gives Ryker everything she’s got. She hopes
their hot streak will last forever, but with Ryker’s conniving ex plotting to
reclaim her man, the pressure is on Gray to step up and save a tender new love
before it’s too late.

Excerpt:

My phone gives a short chime and I
pull it out of my pocket. I can’t help the curl of slight disgust that comes to
my lips when I see an email from Hensley. Most people would agree: A man is
allowed to be disgusted by his wife when she sleeps with another man. Even more
so when that other man is a teammate.

But that’s not why I curl my lips and
wrinkle my nose. No, I’m pretty much past that, and I know I’m past it because
I just don’t think about it anymore. In fact, I’m expecting the final divorce
decree in the mail any day now. Our hearing was last month in Boston and my
lawyer assured me it would sail through with no hitches, mainly because Hensley
and I were able to agree on a division of our assets and custody of the girls
coming to me.

No . . . there is absolutely not a
single remaining bitter feeling left in me about the loss of my wife and her
betrayal to our marriage. It’s over and I’m ready to move on.

I am, however, completely affronted by
Hensley’s attitude toward her daughters. Those precious silver-eyed beauties
whom she dumped on my doorstep before she checked out of their lives so she
could run around the country with her boy toy during hockey season.

A quick glance at her email and my
stomach knots up. A simple reminder that she’ll be in town next week when the
Boston Eagles—my former team—will be here in Raleigh to play the Cold Fury.
Because Hensley is still currently fucking my former Eagle teammate Patric
Sutter, and living with him on the road, she’ll be here for a visit. Obviously,
she wants to spend some time with Violet and Ruby.

I hit Reply, but before my fingers can
even begin to type what I hope will be a fairly calm response—because let’s
face it, I’m not going to keep her away from the girls—my phone starts ringing,
immediately followed by a picture of Zack popping up.

Zack Grantham.

My teammate. My best friend.

Boyfriend to Kate Francis, my girls’
part-time nanny and the angel who helped me get grounded when I needed it most.

“What’s up?” I say, leaning back
against the hallway wall. I keep an eye on the space below the bathroom door,
making sure the spider doesn’t come prowling out. I have my foot poised to
strike out and stomp the little fucker if it shows.

“Dude . . . turn on the TV right now
to channel thirty-three,” he says in a rush.

I don’t think to question the urgency
in Zack’s voice and quickly step into Violet and Ruby’s room to grab the
remote. I deftly change the channel to the sports news network as I sit on the
end of Violet’s little twin bed decorated in purple flowers and white lace.

“. . . while this is still very much
speculation, it appears the wheels are in motion for the league to see its
first female general manager in its ninety-eight-year existence. Sources inside
the Cold Fury office will do nothing more than confirm that while Brian Brannon
has stepped down from his position as the team’s general manager, he will still
retain his position as president and CEO of the organization. A more formal
statement is expected later today.”

The male reporter turns to his
co-anchor at the desk, a beautiful blonde who looks more like a beauty queen
than a sports reporter and says, “So, Jessica . . . potentially historic news
coming out of Raleigh, North Carolina, today.”

The blonde nods seriously and turns to
face the camera. “Very historic and also controversial. If these rumors are
true, Grayson Brannon, daughter and heir to the Brannon fortune, will become
the first female general manager of a professional hockey team. I’m sure this
is going to spark a lot of heated debate over her capabilities, so it will be
interesting to see how this plays out.”

The male reporter nods sagely and
looks down at a digital tablet sitting before him on the desk. “Already,
Twitter is blowing up with comments about the potential change in management.”

A news graphic appears to the left of
the reporter on the TV screen, showing some of the tweets as he reads them out
loud. “Here’s one from @FuryFan4Life . . . What the hell is
@Carolina_Cold_Fury thinking? A woman general manager? Ridiculous.”

The blond reporter props her chin in
the palm of her hand, watching her co-anchor as he reads the tweets, her face
the perfect mask of concerned interest.

“Gray Brannon is more than
qualified. Give her a chance,” he reads aloud. “That’s from
@carolina_girl_87.”

“There’s going to be a lot of
polarized opinions about this,” the blonde says, and the camera zooms in on
her. “But everyone needs to remember, Gray Brannon may be young, but she has
the experience needed—”

I hit the mute button on the TV, not
needing to hear all about Gray Brannon. I know plenty already.

“Think it’s true?” I ask Zack as I put
him on speakerphone.

“No idea. I was just watching TV and
this breaking news came on.”

Almost as if by eerie design, my phone
chimes and a text appears. It’s from the Cold Fury office and simply says, Team
Meeting 5PM.

“Did you just get that text?” Zack
asks.

“Yup, and I’m going to go out on a
limb and say it’s true.”

Zack gives a low whistle. “Ballsy move
for Brannon.”

That it is.

Moving his daughter into the position
of the team’s general manager. Fucking ballsy as hell and I’m guessing it’s
going to cause some dissension in the ranks.

Not
from me, though. I personally think Gray Brannon can do the job. She is, after
all, the one personally responsible for getting me traded to the Cold Fury, and
for that alone she has my support.

USA Today and New York Times Best-Selling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series and the Last Call Series. She will be releasing her third book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, June 2015.